SOME time ago, Cllr Ian Hudspeth leader of Oxfordshire County Council, invited citizens of Oxfordshire to submit ideas or submit reports of areas where savings could be made to offset the every rising council tax bill.

The sums involved may appear to be negligible but every little helps as the council anticipates that further savings will be required.

I note from recent reports that both the Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council appear to employ external consultants to advise and formulate reports on projects in the areas the two councils control.

More often than not the ‘works’ produced by these expensive outside consultants appear as reports that are not acted upon and end up filed away never to see the light of day.

This is a complete waste of public money. Both councils employ highly paid departmental officers, are they not capable of carrying out such tasks?

When these officers were appointed we the taxpayers were informed that the lucrative salaries and other benefits offered were required to attract people with the right skills.

Why then do we have to employ external consultants? After all, important projects are vetoed by the ever-vigilant Oxford Civic Society and the public who are given the opportunity to criticise and offer suggestions.

As a last resort there is always the possibility that the project will be abandoned.

Can someone explain why we need external consultants?

VIM RODRIGO
Rivermead Road
Oxford